The 2014 Northeastern baseball team had a knack for theatrics. Twenty-nine of the Huskies' 55 games were decided by two runs or fewer, they reached extra-innings seven times, and Northeastern waited until the very last day of the regular season to clinch a Colonial Athletic Association Tournament bid.
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The Huskies qualified for the conference tournament for the second-consecutive season after it topped UNCW, 5-3, at Friedman Diamond on March 17. Before the game, Northeastern honored Husky skipper Neil McPhee by retiring his No. 25. The 2014 season marked McPhee's 29th and final year at the helm of the Huskies as the Northeastern Hall-of-Famer is set to retire. Northeastern assistant coach and former NU standout student-athlete
Mike Glavine will succeed McPhee as head coach.
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It didn't take long for the Huskies to demonstrate that they can compete with the best teams in the country. During the third game of the 2014 season, Northeastern held No. 23 Texas A&M scoreless going into the ninth inning thanks to seven shutout innings by senior starting pitcher
Chris Carmain, but the Aggies walked off with a 1-0 win. Still, the early confidence carried over into Northeastern's annual trip to Florida.
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The Huskies traveled to Fort Myers for the 11th annual exhibition against the Boston Red Sox, followed by six games in the Snowbird Baseball Classic (SBC) in Port Charlotte. Northeastern held a 2-0 lead midway through the sixth inning of the seven-inning contest against the Red Sox thanks to
Jimmy Hand's two-run double, but the reigning World Series Champions rallied for a 5-2 win. No moment was more memorable than when sophomore lefty
James Mulry struck out Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz in consecutive at-bats.
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The Huskies posted a 3-3 record at the SBC, and McPhee became the 37th active coach to reach the 700-win milestone after Northeastern topped St. Bonavanture, 7-2, on March 2. Carmain allowed only two hits through eight scoreless innings in the win over the Bonnies, a performance than earned him CAA Pitcher of the Week. Â
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Northeastern opened its home schedule with a three-game sweep over Niagara. The Huskies outscored the Purple Eagles, 15-3, while the NU pitching staff dominated with a 0.33 ERA during the weekend series. Pitching continued to be Northeastern's strong suit as Carmain showed he was past injuries that plagued parts of his collegiate career,
Nick Berger returned to the weekend rotation for the second-consecutive season, and freshman
Dustin Hunt quickly became one of the best starters in the CAA.
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"Our year was defined by strong, deep pitching, which is the number-one priority for success," said McPhe. "Offensively and defensively, we used multiple players and lineups, with a core of four to five players at the top of the order."
Carmain was one of only five pitchers the country to open the season with 10-consecutive quality starts, Berger started a Northeastern record-breaking 15 games, and Hunt was named CAA Rookie of the Week four times. Out of the bullpen,
Michael Foster led the team with five saves, first-year players
Mike Fitzgerald and
Aaron Civale proved to be reliable, and
Brad Burcroff – who started 52 games between the outfield and first base – pitched for the first time in his collegiate career while making 14 appearances on the hill. As a whole, the Northeastern pitching staff posted a 3.08 ERA and held opponents to a lowly .248 batting average.
The Huskies opened their CAA schedule by winning two out of three games at the College of Charleston (the eventual 2014 CAA champions), and out-of conference opponents weren't fairing any better. Northeastern posted a 4-2 record against ACC programs, including a 2-0 mark against Boston College, and a 2-1 mark at Notre Dame. The Huskies lost on the road in their first-ever meeting with Virginia Tech. Â
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Although Northeastern relied on its pitching for most of the season, the Husky bats came alive during a 17-1 win at James Madison. The 17 runs were the most scored since 2007, and the 16-run win margin was the highest since 2005. The tremendous conference win was one of four victories in the final six regular-season games as NU entered the CAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed.
"We reached our yearly primary goal, which is to get into the CAA Tournament," said McPhee. "Just as it happened a year ago, we played our best baseball in the last weekends leading into the Tournament, and that is a tribute to the athletic make-up of a team that plays well under pressure."
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The Huskies dropped the postseason opener to No. 4 Delaware, 4-3, but bounced back with a 3-1 win against JMU. However, Delaware handed NU its second loss of the Tournament, 3-2, to bring the Northeastern's season to a close.
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The Huskies finished the 2014 season with a 26-29 record and left their mark on the Northeastern record books by cracking the top-10 ranks of 13 different single-season records.
Single-season recordsÂ
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